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Kayak Scouting Mission on the Ochlockonee Water Trail
Merritt’s Mill Pond | Kayaking and Spring Caves

The WFSU Ecology Blog

  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
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      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Apalachicola River and BayEcoAdventuresKayak and Canoe Adventures

RiverTrek Day 2: Alum Bluff to Estiffanulga

by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 11, 2012
by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 11, 2012 0 comment
Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV

After breakfast and tearing down camp, Riverkeeper Dan ferried us across the river from the sandbar where we camped to Alum Bluff.  The day before we looked at the 150 foot tall bluff and tried to figure out how we would be approaching it from lower ground. When we got across, we were surprised that the plan was to go more or less right up the front, zigging and zagging on some steep and sometimes slippery terrain. Once we were up there, Annie Schmidt of The Nature Conservancy started us on our tour. Where we went up on the bluff is not part of the nearby Garden of Eden trail, so we bush whacked our way through. It was a great morning workout.

This is the curviest part of the river, the is the most east and west paddling we’ll do on the trip, and the least progress southward.  Still, we paddled 21 miles (Mile marker 84- 63).  Alum Bluff was the first of much taller bluffs we passed today, made of a combination of limestone, sand, and red clay.

We took a detour up Sutton Creek, near Blountstown.  That’s where some of the oldest Cypress trees on the river can be found, with ten foot knees.  This river keeps so many unique places like this tucked away like pennies under a couch cushion.  Like those pennies, of course, some of the places are kind of hard to reach.  If we had had more time, we would have hiked into the cypress.

Josh got out of his kayak and gave us a little perspective:

Tonight we camp at Estiffanulga.  Estiffanulga Bluff once served as a base for William Augustus Bowles’ pirate flotilla.  Some of the paddlers affectionately call it “stiff and ugly.”  I’m not as stiff as I thought I would be, and I would definitely not call this place ugly.  Here is where I part ways with videographer Dan Peeri.  Dawn and Rick Peffer, who brought us dinner, are shuttling him back to Tallahassee. Dawn made us some fantastic pies (apple and cherry), muffins, and foil wrapped apple fritters for us to eat for breakfast tomorrow. They also brought food from Uptown Cafe. Thanks to the Peffers and Uptown Cafe! And thanks Dan for your hard work.

We ended the night with campfire stories and levity, which I’ve been told not to share on the blog.  So I’m being nice…

image

Dan Peeri was on the boat for several hours of Dan Tonsmeire’s conference calls with legislative members.  Here he is hard at work.

For more information on Rivertrek, visit the official page.  This page is on the Riverkeeper web site, and you can further explore what they do for the river.  (They’re also on Facebook).

The Franklin County Promise Coalition is coordinating aide efforts for families that are being affected in Franklin County through their Bay Aid program.   As Dan told us in his original interview, over half of the residents of Franklin County depend on the river for their livelihoods.  Learn more about volunteering and other Bay Aid opportunities here.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas

Rob Diaz de Villegas is a senior producer for WFSU-TV, covering outdoors and ecology. After years of producing the music program OutLoud, Rob found himself in a salt marsh with a camera, and found a new professional calling as well. That project, the National Science Foundation funded "In the Grass, On the Reef," spawned the award winning WFSU Ecology Blog. Now he spends time exploring north Florida's forests, coasts, waterways, and the endlessly fascinating ecosystem that is the backyard garden. Rob is married with two young sons, who make a pretty fantastic adventure squad.

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RiverTrek Day 2: Sutton Lake
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RiverTrek Day 3: Sand bar lunch

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Upcoming Ecology Blog stories

We’ve been busy working on the north Florida part of the NOVA | PBS #ClimateAcrossAmerica initiative. Our first story for that initiative has just dropped, on protecting Florida’s coasts from storm surge. We’ve been out in the field recently for a few other stories you won’t want to miss

 

Fire and Black Carbon in the Longleaf Forest

 

Prescribed fire helps maintain biodiversity in longleaf ecosystems, but it releases carbon into the atmosphere. Despite this, burning might help these systems store carbon in the long term. This is our second story for the #ClimateAcrossAmerica initiative.

 

Black and Yellow Rails: the most secretive birds in North America

 

Fire also helps maintain biodiversity in coastal salt marshes. We head to the coast with Tall Timbers Research Station in search of two seldom seen birds that rely on fire: black and yellow rails.

 

The Brown-Headed Nuthatch, a bird with a unique family structure

 

Back at Tall Timbers, we visit the nests of one of the cutest inhabitants of the longleaf forest, the brown-headed nuthatch. It’s one of a few birds where extended family help raise young.

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